Three MLAs walk out of Congress over Telangana issue

The ruling Congress suffered a setback in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday as three Members of the Legislative Assembly from the coastal region quit the party in protest against the bifurcation of the state.

Adala Prabhakar Reddy, Sridhar Krishna Reddy (both from Nellore district) and B Satyananda Rao (East Godavari), who had strongly opposed the tabling of Telangana Bill in Parliament, made the announcement on Thursday morning.

More Congress MLAs from Seemandhra, who have been vehemently opposing the state division, are also likely to desert the party soon.

The Congress had on Tuesday expelled six Lok Sabha Members of Parliament from the Seemandhra region, who had given notices of no-confidence motion against the United Progressive Alliance government over their opposition to the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.